1. Technical Field
This document relates to systems, devices, and methods involved in generating detectable polymers.
2. Background Information
Many different types of devices exist for generating polymers such as labeled deoxyribonucleic acids. For example, tubes, tube retainer trays, microtiter plates, microfluidic cards, and glass slides containing arrays have been fabricated to allow a user to generate polymers. The HT7900 Micro Fluidic Card™ is an example of a microfluidic card designed to allow a user to generate polymers. In this case, the microfluidic card functions as a structured array of reaction chambers and contains input ports for inserting samples into the card. The HT7900 Micro Fluidic Card™ is available from Applied Biosystems Group (Foster City, Calif.).
In addition, many different techniques have been developed to detect a generated polymer. For example, machines designed to read fluorescent signals from each well of a microtiter plate have been developed. The FLx800™ reader is an example of an absorbance and fluorescence instrument for measuring samples in various microplate arrangements. The reader can used in numerous fluorescence and absorbance applications in research and routine investigations. Its fluorescence filters are arranged in filter wheels. The reader can handle 6, 48, 96, and 384 well plates and can detect wavelengths in the fluorescence spectral range. Gen5™ data collection and analysis software can be used for data capture, and standard reads and data can be downloaded into Excel for further analysis. Dual optical channels can allow for measurements from above or below the plate. Light to and from the samples can be focused by a lens. The FLx800™ reader is available from BioTek Instruments, Inc. (Winooski, Vt.).